Expo extravaganza

Students had two unique opportunities this week to come together and showcase their achievements. Duke Venture Forward held the final stage of its ChangeWorks social entrepreneurship pitch competition Wednesday, and TEDxDuke will hold its second annual conference Saturday, featuring talks by faculty, students and other notable speakers.

We find these events, along with others like the Duke Start-Up Challenge entrepreneurship competition, to be a promising means of promoting student initiatives. The open format allows for a high degree of audience participation­—ChangeWorks, for example, has a live voting audience that serves as a “fifth panelist” in deciding the winner. Encouraging participation from students is a refreshing change from the traditional “lecture and listen” model. Student expos are also useful for clubs seeking to promote their activities and increase their membership. Organizations can capitalize on the buzz surrounding these events to market research and extracurricular opportunities to attendees. Expos are often a more effective way for groups to generate interest around their projects than sprawling forums like the Student Activities Fair.

Student expos also fill a need on campus for exciting intellectual dialogue outside the classroom, bucking claims that Duke’s intellectual climate is lacking. Audience participation and offerings like food and diversions make all the difference between a club’s lackluster initial interest meeting and a captivating venue for peers to exchange ideas.

Too often, Duke’s most exciting projects are isolated from the larger community. It seems like every day that a new global health project or student-designed green initiative, like the Smart Home, emerges. Large student expos spotlight otherwise hidden student achievements and bring them to the student body at large. To this end, location matters: dPS Connect, for example, was wise to schedule its freshmen event freshSTART 2015 event April 9 in the conveniently-located White Lecture Hall. These practical gestures will pay dividends for the student groups and for students looking to get more involved.

The success of the University is intrinsically tied to the entrepreneurial ventures that these events showcase. Last year, Trustee David Rubenstein, Trinity ’70, emphasized the importance of supporting student innovation in order for Duke to remain an elite institution. He noted that fostering entrepreneurship among students leads to philanthropic payoffs and stronger local businesses in the future. While the University has a strong record of encouraging passionate entrepreneurs, it is equally important that it retains a focus on bringing their ideas to a larger audience.

We encourage more student groups to think outside the box and conceive ways to implement the expo model to serve their particular projects. We see opportunities for more centralization and group-to-group collaboration among arts groups as well as service groups. Organizations should consider how their particular projects can benefit the entire Duke community, not just those currently involved. Ultimately, though, it is up to students to actually attend these events with an open mind and support the innovative and collaborative efforts they see there. The possible benefits are huge, both for the groups that work hard to put on a striking showcase, and for the students who can spur their intellectual interests outside the classroom.